The Documentary Podcast
BBC World Service
Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can uncover hidden truths and make sense of the world. The best of documentary storytelling from the BBC World Service.
From China’s state-backed overseas spending, to on the road with Canada’s Sikh truckers, to the front line of the climate emergency, we go beyond the headlines.
Each week we dive into the minds of the world’s most creative people, take personal journeys into spirituality and connect people from across the globe to share how news stories are shaping their lives.
From China’s state-backed overseas spending, to on the road with Canada’s Sikh truckers, to the front line of the climate emergency, we go beyond the headlines.
Each week we dive into the minds of the world’s most creative people, take personal journeys into spirituality and connect people from across the globe to share how news stories are shaping their lives.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 4, 2026 • 26min
Namibia’s hydrogen superpower dream
A remote Namibian desert could become a global green hydrogen hub, promising billions in investment and thousands of jobs. Locals weigh hopes for youth employment against fears of boom-bust cycles and rising rents. Scientists warn of risks to unique desert plants, penguins and coastal ecosystems from desalination, ports and industrial expansion. Political shifts and shaky global markets leave the plan’s future uncertain.
Mar 3, 2026 • 27min
Can Syria’s Kurds save their women’s revolution?
Natasha Walter, British feminist writer who visited Rojava, offers reflective commentary. Berevan Omer, co-mayor of Qamishlo, discusses gender co-leadership and municipal work. Rukhsen Mohamed, spokesperson for the YPJ, describes women's roles and revolutionary mentality. They explore Rojava's experiment in women's equality, the impact of all-women fighting units, local tensions, and threats from renewed government control.
Mar 2, 2026 • 26min
Kwan Pun Leung: The image creator of nature
Kwan Poon Leung, acclaimed Hong Kong-Taiwan cinematographer behind In the Mood for Love, known for poetic, atmospheric image-making. He talks about finding images in light and shadow. He describes intuition-led cinematography, improvisation with directors, using mirrors and chance, and crafting atmosphere through editing and DIY effects.
9 snips
Mar 1, 2026 • 49min
Rewriting a revolution
Ruben Carranza, a senior transitional justice expert who tracked Marcos assets, and Manuel Quezon III, a presidential historian and columnist, discuss the Marcos family's return to power. They explore Marcos-era corruption and asset tracing. They trace historical memory, revisionism and how media and politics reshaped public opinion.
Feb 28, 2026 • 26min
Will Venezuela ditch Chavismo?
Alicia Hernandez, BBC Mundo reporter on Venezuela's history and political shifts; Jorge Perez, BBC Mundo journalist on politics and oil; Ashay Yedge, BBC Marathi reporter who covered a community snow leopard census. They discuss Maduro's removal and Delcy Rodríguez's rise, whether Chavismo will change under pressure, oil policy shifts and political hopes. Also, a remote village's women-led camera-trap conservation for snow leopards.
Feb 28, 2026 • 23min
Living with Tourette syndrome
Jermani D. Williams, a New York City elected official with Tourette's who speaks on race and policing. Jamie Grace, an Atlanta music producer with Tourette's who uses music to cope. They react to a high-profile BAFTA incident, explain involuntary tics and harm, debate responsibilities of event organisers and broadcasters, and discuss policing, suppression, music as relief, stigma and self-advocacy.
Feb 27, 2026 • 27min
When music became a prayer
Yirui Weng, a concert pianist from Hangzhou who studied in Italy and converted to Catholicism after encountering sacred music. She recounts a transformative moment with Vivaldi's Gloria. Conversations cover churches and art in Italy, learning prayer and catechesis in Milan, how faith reshaped her relationship with performance, and baptism as a moment of acceptance and grace.
9 snips
Feb 26, 2026 • 28min
Ukraine’s defiance, four years on
Jeremy Bowen, BBC international editor and veteran foreign correspondent, reports from front-line Ukraine. He walks through fortified towns, drone-defended roads and relief efforts. He hears local refusals to cede territory, diplomatic deadlocks, US leverage limits, soldiers’ front-line realities, Zelensky’s resolve and Ukraine’s industrial and drone-driven resilience.
Feb 25, 2026 • 38min
Bonus: Lives Less Ordinary
Dan Whitlam, British spoken-word poet, actor and musician known for writing about love and trauma. He recounts being stabbed, the medical and emotional aftermath, and a restorative meeting with his attacker. He explains how turning the trauma into a poem transformed his life, gained him a following, and led him to write about love and resilience.
Feb 24, 2026 • 28min
Russia's Church in Texas
Father Moses Macpherson, a ROCOR priest near Austin known for growing a young, online-following parish. He discusses converting trends, massive interest in traditional liturgy, why many young men are drawn to strong male role models and ritual, and how priests and influencers use social media to spread Russian Orthodox ideas across the US.
